the last lap

the last lap

The final part of a very long journey or activity. We've got the coding nearly done, so we should be on the last lap now. I always looked forward to seeing that restaurant on the drive to my grandmother's house, because it meant we were on the last lap of the trip.
See also: lap, last
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

the last lap

1. The last lap is the final part of a long activity. Note: In the first four idioms, `lap' refers to the area at the top of your thighs when you are sitting down, where a child would sit. Monica is on the last lap now — she is doing six weeks medicine at Birmingham General Hospital.
2. The last lap is the final part of a journey. Note: In the first four idioms, `lap' refers to the area at the top of your thighs when you are sitting down, where a child would sit. The car turned into a long avenue of pine trees, the last lap of their journey to the Venters' house.
See also: lap, last
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

the last ˈlap

the final part of something which has taken a long time: Her medical studies finish next year, so she’s on the last lap now. They are on the last lap of their journey round the world.
A lap is a single circuit of a running or race track.
See also: lap, last
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • road trip
  • roadtrip
  • lap dog
  • be in the lap of the gods
  • pitch forward
  • have a safe journey
  • lap over
  • all the way to Egery and back
  • cover a lot of ground
  • win (something) by a nose
References in classic literature
The going was good; they were on the last lap; and he raced the dogs down through Dyea Canon and along the hard-packed trail that led to Dyea Post.
Burning Daylight
The two men circled about the camp twice and on the last lap Brady stooped and picked up an object which had lain about ten yards beyond the fire--it was Bradley's cap.
Out of Times Abyss
The sweat starts out on his forehead, and he bends over like a cyclist on the last lap of a race.
Jungle
Ariarne Titmus of Australia chased down Ledecky over the last lap to win the 400-meter freestyle and deny the American star a record fourth straight title.
Ledecky stunned in 400 free at worlds; Sun wins record title
The 26-year-old bolted away on the last lap to win in three minutes 58.25 seconds, the perfect tonic with the IAAF World Championships in Doha just 10 weeks away.
Muir on map for Doha tilt; ATHLETICS
FORMULA E JEAN-ERIC VERGNE crashed out on the last lap in New York last night - and let his rivals back into the championship.
VERGNE TITLE PERIL AFTER LATE CRASH
Inguito sneaked past RR Espiritu in the last lap to rule the Expert class of the FDR Philippine Underbone King series.
Defending champs rule Petron race
Amazingly, Jorgensen took part in the re-run and came down again on the last lap when trying to pass Heeps for third place.
Diamonds full of sparkle on a night of thrills; Speedway
figure By AYUMBA AYODI Fantu Worku destroyed Kenya's anchor Winfred Mbithe in the last lap to hand Ethiopia victory in the mixed relay race at the World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark on Saturday.The Ethiopians seem to have mastered the last steep upper hill climb where they beat the leadings Kenyans for the exchange.
World Cross Country: Ethiopia too good for Kenya in Mixed Relay
Although Sulaiti, who clinched his third Superpole of the season, stayed in the front of almost entire race, he made a mistake in the last lap that allowed Qubaisi to overtake him and win the race.
Grand QSTK double by young Qubaisi
Although al-Sulaiti, who clinched his third Superpole of the season, managed to lead almost all the race, he made a mistake on the last lap that allowed al-Qubaisi to overtake him.
First double win for al-Qubaisi in Qatar Superstock
Al Faisal then moved up into ninth place heading into the last lap and climbed a place further in the final lap before contact woes plummeted him to 16th place.
LAST-LAP CONTACT DASHES AL FAISAL'S HOPES OF A TOP-EIGHT FINISH IN ITALY
Taiwanese female speed skater Huang Yu-ting fell at the last lap in the Women's 1,500 meter speed skating finals at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games yesterday (Feb 12).
Taiwan female speed skater Huang falls in last lap of 1,500 m race
Summary: A dramatic overtake on the last lap hands the Briton the title
Brendon Leigh crowned F1 eSports Series Champion